5 Tips For A New Home Buyer
Did You Know? “Inventory of homes for sale is very low, and getting lower. Inventory constraints are particularly acute among entry-level and median homes – the exact homes sought by first-time homebuyers and young families.” (via)
For anyone that doesn’t know – I work with Wafiq in Residential Real Estate. My history in real estate goes as follows: I assisted several people through multiple positions with commercial real estate after college, when I moved to Dubai I worked in residential real estate because they don’t separate commercial from residential, and now I’m assisting Wafiq in residential real estate in Austin. HE IS SO GOOD AT IT. I just wanted to cut to that point. There is nothing better than coming home to someone who is happy in their work everyday. It makes the worlds difference to our everyday happiness, relationship, and goals. SO MUCH BETTER than complaining about work. And he thrives, it’s the most fun to be a part of it!
We are both of the mindset that life is short & we should spend every day figuring out what we love doing – and do it.
Since working in Residential Real Estate in the U.S. we’ve met several first time home buyers (& the experience is much different than it was in Dubai). We have a few tips that we see w almost all our first time home buyers in the market right now. I was overlooking sharing this here but it finally clicked for me, this is some good info if you’re trying to make your first BIG purchase; a home. Once you have these 5 things figured out – you should have a smoother & smarter process.
5 Tips For A First Time Home Buyer
- Don’t be Afraid of Multiple Offers: This is a tough one to get people to believe, but it’s true. All you can do with a multiple offer situation is put in your best offer & see if it works. If it doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to be. I KNOW that sounds very cliche but I have proof! In almost every deal Wafiq did in the summer – the clients lost homes in multiple offer situations, and were obviously bummed. BUT 100% of them ended up closing on a different home saying “I’m so glad that other offer didn’t get accepted, we love this one so much more.” Guys, I’m not lying to you. Trust the process, trust you’ll find what’s right for you!
- Prioritize Your Wants: Is it location & school districts? Is it land size? A big, open kitchen? 5 bedrooms? One story? A particular price range? You absolutely have to have your wants, needs, and budget figured out before you go home hunting or you’re going to be all over the place and easily feel overwhelmed. Once you have your list – stick to it!! This is MAJOR.
- Start With a Lender: Because a lender is going to tell you your budget after reviewing you credit score & financial info. And any surprises you weren’t expecting, ahem – credit issues. Find a lender or 2, and have them get your budget figured out so you can realistically look at homes. It’s always good to compare lenders & their fees + rates. Shopping around is encouraged, ask your agent for a recommendation. Once you have a pre qual letter it’s good for 3-4 months. Find a lender, only when you’re serious & ready to buy as they’ll run your credit; & you don’t want to be doing that often.
- Find a Good Agent: And I’m not saying this because Wafiq and I work as real estate agents. I actually 100% understand why we meet people that have a horrible grudge against real estate agents. I ran into this all the time in Dubai too. A lot of them SUCK. Here’s the thing, if you find a good one – you’ll be so happy you had them along the journey. I can’t tell you how often fires are being put out that you may never even hear about, because we’re doing our job. Making the process easy for YOU. AN AGENT DOES NOT JUST SHOW YOU HOMES. You could always do that yourself – THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING. Many, many, many deals fall through after an offer is ACCEPTED. This is a huge misconception. Until you get to closing day, anything can happen! You need an agent that’s going to make sure you actually get to closing, & preferably smoothly. There’s a lot of work an agent should be doing between your offer being accepted & closing day – most of which you’ll probably barely hear about (if your agent is good 🙂 )
- Save (more) Money: And not just for the down payment. There’s typically closing costs that accumulate & other unaccounted for payments. We notice a lot of first time home buyers end up being very tight at closing due to unexpected expenses. Have a little extra cash ready so you can be excited about your purchase, rather than stressed & tight on money from the beginning of your new home adventure!
There you go guys! I think those are 5 helpful tips for a first time home buyer today! I hope this helps anyone in the home hunting process, of course if you have any questions let us know. Especially Wafiq, he is so smart on the process now & loves giving advice or answering questions. And me too!
What a totally exciting time!
Have a great, sunshine filled weekend everyone!
Be thoughtful, always
Xx
What kind of credit score do you need to buy a house?
Being aware of closing expense is also very important especially if you are buying home for 1st time.